Legal Aid: New funding is needed for services

City Council should pass a bill that helps Legal Aid's funding stay current.

The needs have never been so great in these difficult times.

Very low interest rates have devastated a trust account from the Florida Bar Foundation.

Due to this loss of funding. Jacksonville Area Legal Aid could lose one-third of its legal staff, reported Michael Figgins, Legal Aid's executive director.

As Figgins said in an email, "A decimated JALA means more homelessness, more women trapped in domestic violence, more family homes lost, more disabled persons without Social Security and Medicaid benefits, unchecked housing discrimination, more refugees unable to reach citizenship, more fraud and scams and finally no where to go to learn about what is legal and what is not and how best to resolve a consuming legal problem short of taking matters into one's own hands."

Legal Aid discovered a funding stream that was approved by the Legislature for Miami-Dade County. It provides for a surcharge tacked onto criminals. The bill was written to include consolidated governments, which would include Jacksonville.

Thanks to healthy discussion in City Council committees, the Jacksonville version has been improved.

- The $85 fee was reduced to $50.

- Indigents are exempted up to 200 percent of the poverty rate.

- There is a five-year sunset provision that would allow for a review of funding. Perhaps at that time another source will be found.

Since the governor vetoed state funding for Legal Aid, it appears this will be a local issue for some time.

The bill has received widespread support so far in City Council committees. It deserves to be passed.

Basically, it's a user fee on criminals who can afford to pay.

Who could oppose that? Especially when the alternative is a devastating impact to the needy in Jacksonville.

@tradewinns1 - "lawyers can afford to pay" - actually, one of Legal Aid's funding sources is based on interest from those trust accounts and that has been dwindling (to say the least) the past few years due to a bad economy and private attorneys reaching a point where many are struggling, especially sole practitioners. There is no such thing as a "trust account donation" as money held in trust is just that - not the attorney's money. The interest from those required accounts (required because money held in trust must be separate from attorney's money, not a minimum amount requirement) is available to the Florida Bar to utilize to promote public services (usually).

Reasons for Legal Aid:
- losing one's home to potentially illegal foreclosure - plenty of articles the past few years about banks contracting out foreclosure work to some shady companies who hire unqualified people to just sign documents - so, people who actually do not legally deserve to have their home foreclosed but are unable to afford a private attorney would suffer the consequences and there is no criminal aspect to it.
- social security disabilities denied - how is this a criminal matter? Contact the police and tell them you were improperly denied Social Security and they will tell you it is a civil matter they can do nothing about. Try to appeal on your own and you can get lost in our laws. Lawyers are not evil things. Electricians provide a service based upon their knowledge of something (as do Lawyers); I would change a light bulb without contacting an electrician, but I probably would not try to re-wire my entire house without one unless I had a death wish.
- Citizenship - if you have ever known any immigrants, you would understand how some are able to address their immigration needs on their own while others are terrified of authority figures, especially Immigration. Some have certain issues that may put their status at risk if they apply for certain benefits. It is wise to seek legal advice in these circumstances. And applying for citizenship and/or being denied most certainly is not a police-related crime.

Also, you somewhat contradict yourself as you mention "avenues other than legal" followed up by a reference to utilizing police, which is very legally involved and at some point involves a State Attorney (a lawyer) and Public Defender (also an attorney/lawyer). You seem to not differentiate between civil and criminal matters (which is not uncommon among the general population). There are some acts that can subject you to civil and criminal consequences (consider OJ trial in general and then the civil case filed by family subsequently). Whether the State Attorney's Office can afford to prosecute is an entirely different matter and in a bad economy, they have to spend wisely. Sometimes the civil legal avenue is the only way when the criminal legal avenue (either way, those are legal avenues) is not financially feasible for the State, which does not make it any more or less important or worth pursuing just not financially feasible.

User fee on criminals and who would pay? Well, probably not the felon who is imprisoned. Not the convicted person who is destitute. But have you ever encountered a person who is defending a DUI? People spend thousands on lawyers to defend against those because they do not qualify for a public defender, so can afford the private representation - those people and those types of cases would be who could pay. And if you have never known someone who was involved with DUI somehow at some point in his/her life, I would be shocked.

The point being our laws are what make up our country. They make our government. They define our nation. They can be simple to very complex to impossible to comprehend. They can be open to interpretation or have been discussed enough and agreed upon enough that they are clear as day in some circumstances. Reporting crime does not require a lawyer. However, prosecuting, defending, suing, understanding the legal process, etc. sometimes does require a lawyer. Having representation on both sides makes for a much more fair and efficient court system where "justice" becomes much more possible. Money should not be what determines a legal outcome, but all too often it does. THAT is the reason for Legal Aid. Level the playing field and seek Justice in the truest meaning of the word. The "poor" do not always remain such (and there is not a soul out there that WANTS to be and remain poor, but some who have given up when they cannot see a way out); they are human beings with dreams as any other and sometimes just the little support that can be provided by Legal Aid can make a world of difference not only to that individual, but also to the individual's community and economy as educated/informed citizens tend to become productive citizens of our society.

If you would care to discuss this further, be provided examples of how Legal Aid benefits our local community/economy/citizens, and/or just have a friendly debate, please feel free to contact me directly.

lawyers. lawyers can afford to pay. raise their trust account donation (require it) however, i'm tired of the "poor" never paying for anything. it doesn't take a lot of money to live if all your bills are paid for you.

i don't see alot of "reasons" in the article to justify legal aid. losing one's home, citizenship, social security disabilities denied all sound like there are avenues available besides legal. fraud, scams, etc. are all police related crime. reporting it should not need a lawyer.

user fee on criminals? usually a waste of space on paper. what percentage of real criminals preying on society can/will pay a "user fee"?